Pronouns

A. something ✓

You need to buy *something* because you're going shopping for dinner—you plan to get *at least one item*. "Something" means "one or more unspecified thing(s)."

Why the others are wrong:

• B. anything – This is used in questions ("Do you need anything?") or negative statements ("I don't need anything"), not positive statements about plans.
• C. nothing – This contradicts the sentence; you clearly *do* need to buy items, not zero items.
• D. everything – This is too extreme; you're buying ingredients/food for dinner, not literally every possible thing in the store.

Correct Answer: himself
- "He" is a third-person singular pronoun, so the reflexive pronoun must match: "himself" refers back to "he."
- This means he talks to himself (the same person).

Why the others are wrong:
- herself – used for "she," not "he"
- myself – used for "I," not "he"; would only work if the speaker was talking about themselves
- themselves – used for plural subjects like "they," not singular "he"

Correct Answer: Nothing
- In reported speech (she said that...), we use "nothing" to report a negative statement. She originally said, "Nothing is wrong with the car."
- "Nothing" is a negative pronoun that works here because the reported clause needs a subject.

Why the others are wrong:
- Something - This is positive and doesn't match the negative meaning of the original statement.
- Anything - This is typically used in questions ("Is anything wrong?") or negative sentences with "not" ("Not anything..."), not as a standalone subject in reported speech.
- Everything - This would mean everything is broken, which is the opposite of what we want to say.

Correct Answer: ourselves

The subject "We" is plural and includes the speaker, so you need a reflexive pronoun that matches. "Ourselves" is the correct reflexive pronoun for "we."

Why the others are wrong:
- yourself – singular, used with "you" (one person)
- themselves – refers to third person (he/she/they), not "we"
- myself – singular, used with "I" alone, not as part of a group

Correct answer: A. anything

• In questions, we use "anything" (not "something") to ask open-ended questions about whether options exist
• "Something" is used for positive statements ("I have something to drink") or offers ("Would you like something?"), not general questions
• "Nothing" means the absence of drinks, so it doesn't fit a question asking if drinks are available
• "Everything" is too absolute and doesn't match the question's meaning

A. itself ✓
"Itself" is correct because the subject "cat" is singular and needs a singular reflexive pronoun. "Itself" is the standard reflexive pronoun for singular animals/things.

B. herself ✗
While cats are sometimes referred to as "she," the sentence doesn't specify the cat's gender, so the neutral "itself" is more appropriate.

C. myself ✗
"Myself" refers to the speaker, not the cat. It doesn't match the subject.

D. themselves ✗
"Themselves" is plural, but "cat" is singular, so they don't match.

A. themselves ✓

• "They" is a plural pronoun, so you need a plural reflexive pronoun to match it.
• "Themselves" is the plural reflexive form of "they."

Why the others are wrong:

• B. herself – singular reflexive pronoun; doesn't match plural "they"
• C. myself – first-person singular; refers to the speaker, not "they"
• D. yourself – second-person singular; refers to the listener, not "they"

Correct answer: A. yourself

• The sentence uses "you" as the subject, so the reflexive pronoun must match: "yourself" reflects back to "you."
• B (herself) – wrong person; there's no "she" in the sentence.
• C (myself) – wrong person; the subject is "you," not "I."
• D (themselves) – wrong person; there's no "they" in the sentence.

Why A is correct:
"Something" is the right choice because it's a positive statement meaning you do have at least one thing to say. The sentence structure "I have _____ to say" requires a word that confirms you possess something to communicate.

Why the others are wrong:
- B (anything) – Creates an awkward, unnatural sentence. "Anything" typically works in questions ("Do you have anything to say?") or negative statements, not positive ones like this.
- C (nothing) – Contradicts the sentence; it means you have no words to share, which doesn't fit the structure.
- D (everything) – While grammatically possible, it's too extreme and doesn't fit a natural, everyday statement.

Why A is correct:
In positive statements, we use "something" to refer to an unspecified thing. The sentence "He said he saw something" makes sense—he saw an unidentified object.

Why the others are wrong:
- B (anything) - "Anything" is used in questions and negative statements ("Did he see anything?" or "He didn't see anything"), not positive ones.
- C (nothing) - This contradicts the sentence; it would mean he saw no object at all.
- D (everything) - This is too extreme and doesn't fit; he saw one unspecified thing, not all things.

A. anything ✓

In negative contexts (like "can't find"), use anything instead of something. The sentence means "I have zero options available to wear."

Why the others are wrong:
- B. something – This is positive/affirmative ("I found something"). It contradicts "can't find."
- C. nothing – This would make a double negative: "can't find nothing" (grammatically incorrect or means the opposite of what's intended)
- D. everything – This suggests plenty of options exist, which contradicts the problem of not finding anything.

Correct answer: A (anything)

"Doesn't want anything to do with him" is the standard idiom meaning she wants no connection or involvement with him. The negative word "doesn't" pairs with "anything" to create a complete negative meaning.

Why the others are wrong:

• B (something): Would need positive context like "She wants something to do with him"—doesn't work with "doesn't"
• C (nothing): Grammatically awkward; "doesn't want nothing" is a double negative that sounds unnatural in standard English
• D (everything): Changes the meaning to "she wants no association with all things about him"—too extreme and unnatural

A. Nothing ✓

In negative sentences like "We searched...but found ___," you use negative words like "nothing." The word "but" signals a negative or disappointing result.

Why the others are wrong:
- B. something – Used in positive sentences ("We found something"), not negative ones
- C. anything – Used in questions ("Did you find anything?") or negative sentences as a modifier ("We didn't find anything"), but "nothing" is more direct here
- D. everything – Means we found all items, which contradicts the "but" (which suggests we didn't find what we wanted)

A. anything ✓
"Anything" means "any thing at all" — it covers all possibilities without limits. This matches the meaning: you have complete freedom to ask for whatever you choose.

B. something ✗
"Something" means one unspecified thing, which is too restrictive. The sentence suggests unlimited options, not just one thing.

C. nothing ✗
"Nothing" means zero things — the opposite of what we want to say. This contradicts the open, permissive meaning of the sentence.

D. everything ✗
While "everything" seems generous, it actually means "all things combined," which sounds odd and unnatural in this context. "Anything" better captures the idea of "whatever you want."

A. nothing ✓
This is correct because the sentence shows a cause-and-effect relationship: having no tasks means you can sleep all day. "Nothing to do" logically leads to sleeping.

B. something ✗
This contradicts the sentence's meaning. If you have something to do, you wouldn't sleep all day.

C. anything ✗
"Anything" works in questions or negative contexts ("I don't have anything to do"), but here it sounds awkward and doesn't fit the positive structure of this sentence.

D. everything ✗
This is the opposite of what makes sense. Having everything to do would prevent you from sleeping all day.

Correct Answer: himself
- The subject "he" is male, so we need a male reflexive pronoun.
- "Himself" matches the male subject and means he hurt his own body.

Why the others are wrong:
- myself – Used with "I," not "he"
- herself – Used with "she," not "he"
- itself – Used with "it" (things/animals), not a person

Why A is correct:
"Herself" is the reflexive pronoun that matches the subject "she." It shows that she does things by and for herself.

Why the others are wrong:
- B (myself) – This reflexive pronoun goes with "I," not "she"
- C (himself) – This is for "he," not "she"
- D (itself) – This is for objects or animals (neuter), not a female person

Why A (itself) is correct:
"Itself" is the reflexive pronoun for "baby" (a neutral noun). The baby is the subject performing the action on itself, so we need a reflexive pronoun that matches the neutral gender of the noun.

Why the others are wrong:
- B (myself) – Used for "I/me," not for "baby"
- C (himself) – Used for male people/animals, but "baby" is neutral unless specified otherwise
- D (herself) – Used for female people/animals, but "baby" is neutral unless specified otherwise

Why A is correct:
"Ourselves" is the correct reflexive pronoun because "we" (plural) is the subject of the sentence, and the reflexive pronoun must match it.

Why the others are wrong:
- B (myself) – matches "I" (singular), not "we"
- C (himself) – matches "he" (singular male), not "we"
- D (herself) – matches "she" (singular female), not "we"

Why A is correct:
"Yourself" is the right pronoun here because the sentence is giving advice directly to someone else. "You" (the person being addressed) needs to take care of "yourself" (that same person).

Why the others are wrong:
- B (myself): This refers to the speaker, not the listener. It would only work if you were saying "I take care of myself."
- C (herself) and D (himself): These refer to a third person, not the person you're talking to. The sentence is addressing someone directly ("you"), so you need the matching reflexive pronoun "yourself."

A. themselves ✓

The sentence needs a reflexive pronoun that matches "them" (plural). "Themselves" is the plural reflexive pronoun, so it correctly refers back to the plural subject.

Why the others are wrong:
- B. myself – wrong person (I, not them)
- C. herself – wrong number (singular, not plural)
- D. himself – wrong number (singular, not plural)